Hawkins leads No. 10 Maryland women to 80-40 win

Rutan scored 16 points off four 3-pointers as the Terps won their 12th straight game over Clemson, 80-40 on Sunday. Rutan, a Xavier transfer who sat out last season, is growing into the reliable outside shooter who prevents defenses from collapsing on Maryland's seemingly endless roster of tall, talented post players.

"Yeah, it's just a process and it takes a little bit of time to get used to stuff," Rutan said. "The way I'm feeling now is really good."

And that clear, plastic hockey-style mask she's worn to protect her nose, which she broke on Jan. 3?

"It's good. We're at four weeks today, so I might be getting out" of it soon, she said with a wide smile.

Not that it's affected her aim much. Rutan's gone 13 of 22 from the floor the past three games, all in starting roles. She broke things open for Maryland (17-3, 8-1 ACC) against the Tigers (5-14, 1-7) with three straight 3-pointers in the opening half to turn a 19-12 lead into a 28-14 runaway.

Maryland coach Brenda Frese says Rutan has been ready to play. "She allows us to have a real inside-outside game," the coach said. "We know how talented we are with our bigs, but to really stretch the defense like that is critical."

The Terps did plenty of damage with their inside game, too. Coming off a stellar, 85-59 win over No. 11 North Carolina this past Thursday night, Maryland picked right up against the Tigers.

Tianna Hawkins, the ACC's leading scorer, had 17 points and 10 rebounds, her 11th game this year with double-figure points and boards. Alicia DeVaughn made 6 of 7 shots for 14 points. Alyssa Thomas, second to Hawkins in league scoring and tied with her for the rebounding lead, posted her 12th double-double this season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Even 6-foot-4 freshman Malina Howard got into the act with 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting. In all, the Terps finished with a season's best showing from the field, hitting 33 of 56 shots (58.9 percent).

Hawkins said the team talked about not letting up at Clemson after the North Carolina win. "It takes one game at a time for us to get where we want to go," she said.